Sonny Boy's art
Taste in anime isn't about visual fidelity. It's about direction, atmosphere, the sum of small decisions that compound into something cohesive. When I think about which anime has the best art, Sonny Boy always comes to mind, not because of technical mastery, but because of what it communicates.
Sonny Boy (サニーボーイ) is an original anime from Madhouse, released in 2021 over 12 episodes. Written and directed by Shingo Natsume (夏目真悟), it adapts nothing. It was built from nothing.
The series is introspective. It's quiet, experimental, and deliberately avoids what works commercially. Instead it explores existential questions through visual and sonic choices that feel intentional.
Most anime optimizes for engagement. Sonny Boy optimizes for meaning. It uses negative space, camera angles, and world design not as stylistic flourishes but as tools to create a specific emotional texture. Scenes linger. Information is withheld. The viewer has to work.
What follows is a grid of screenshots I selected from the series. Each includes the episode number, timestamp, and a brief description of what appears in the frame.
The high school drifts through an empty void, isolated from reality in an unknown dimension
Nagara and Nozomi's first meaningful exchange on the rooftop under a sky with clouds only on Nagara's side.
A detailed close-up of Nozomi's eyes staring intently at the protagonist
Mizuho witnesses a tree burning with blue flames as consequence of the logic of equivalent exchange
Mizuho and Nagara discover a false sky, a curtain they pierce through and cross into another dimension
Nozomi waves while swimming in water rendered as a void of pure black
The core group in the forest under sunset as they listen to the tale of the great baseball monkey
Nagara and Nozomi fish together in quiet companionship on a weathered wooden dock
Nagara and Nozomi float weightless among thousands of fish in an underwater dreamscape
Yamabiko, the enigmatic talking dog, makes his first appearance in this world
Students embark on their interdimensional journey across fragmented realities
Nagara and Nozomi stand on the shore watching the horizon and observing Rajdhani's ship
Nagara, Nozomi, and Yamabiko converse while walking through a wheat field
Yamabiko rests in contemplation, observing a small plant in their temporary sanctuary
Nagara, Nozomi, and Yamabiko reflect while climbing a spiral staircase in an unknown dimension
Mizuho's cats behave like ordinary cats but speak among themselves
Nagara comforts a pensive Nozomi in the snow under a red-tinted atmosphere
Nagara and Nozomi share a fleeting moment of joy on the dock beneath a purple sky
Nozomi falls silently into nothingness itself, into a void of pure white
Nagara and Mizuho sit by the sea in silence, processing the weight of Nozomi's absence
Nagara and Mizuho in space wearing spacesuits, holding a compass that will guide them to the escape route
Nagara and Mizuho face Asakaze in the final confrontation over their shared reality
Nagara and Mizuho escape through dimensions, racing toward an uncertain resolution
Nagara looks at Mizuho with quiet understanding in their final moment together